I keep getting an error from the browser saying that it is expecting a ;

Can anyone help me SEE the error of my ways? Thanks....

This is inside my Page_Load Event.


Code:
 _theFunction = "<script language=javascript> " & _
            "function textCounter(field, countfield, maxlimit) " & _
                "{" & _
                    " If (field.value.length > maxlimit) " & _
                                "field.value = field.value.substring(0, maxlimit); " & _
                    " Else " & _
                        "countfield.value = maxlimit - field.value.length; " & _
                "}" & _
                "</script>"